


gift your heart to me (the unwrapping is the fun part)

by driedupwishes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, First Christmas, Kissing, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, best friends turned boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 06:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5529434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/driedupwishes/pseuds/driedupwishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi didn’t know how buying a gift was this hard, especially when they’d been getting each other gifts for years. Eren wondered how many cats he’d own later in life when Levi dumped him from the sheer disappointment of Eren’s awful Christmas (and birthday!) gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	gift your heart to me (the unwrapping is the fun part)

**Author's Note:**

> ereri secret santa gift for [im-gay-someone-help](http://im-gay-someone-help.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!

“You could get him this!”

Levi didn’t bother picking up his head from his hands, to look at what Isabel was gesturing to this time. After the Sparkly Princess Tiara (complete with flashing lights and matching earrings!) he’d given up any pretense of not regretting bringing her along.

“Iz,” he groaned, “ _please_. This is _serious_.”

Isabel snorted, the sound a perfect expression of her disbelief. Nothing was sacred or serious when you were someone’s brat of a little sister, apparently. Levi was going to leave her at school and make her catch the bus from now on, he swore to God.

“It’s not that serious, Lev,” Isabel said easily. Levi picked up his head to stare at her in disbelief, watching with horrified eyes as she stood on her tiptoes to put the deformed stuffed koala back up on the shelf above her head. It had an uneven lacy green bow tied around its neck, which hung limply against the medal shelf as Isabel settled back to the ground and turned to face him once more. Levi could only stare at the thing, feeling hollow. He couldn’t imagine giving Eren _that_ , what in the world was she _thinking_ , oh my-

“Not that _serious_ ,” Levi hissed. He was aware that he was _maybe_ overreacting, but he couldn’t stop. His heart was lurching in his hollow chest and the feeling was echoing down to his fingertips with a tingle of panic that put him on edge. It was just-

“Levi,” Isabel said, planting her hands on her slim hips and giving him a look she’d inherited from their mother, all pursed lips and tucked down chin. “Listen. It’s not that big a deal. You’ve been getting Eren gifts for years and it never freaked out you this bad before. Just buy him something dumb, like you always do. He loves you, remember? It’s gonna be okay, big bro.”

Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In his heart, he knew Isabel was right. He and Eren had been friends since elementary school, _best_ friends, and they’d been getting each other Christmas presents and birthday presents almost as long. It had always been easy to pick out something Eren would like, but now that they were dating it was suddenly _impossible._

“What were you going to get him before you guys got together,” Isabel asked. Levi ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he opened his eyes to look at her, nose wrinkling as he tried to think.

“I don’t _know_ ,” he growled, “we got together in _July_. Why the fuck would I have Christmas presents planned in _July_?”

“Because you’re kind of anal,” Isabel laughed. Her voice was too loud; the mother down the way with the two little boys jerked her head up in shock and disapproval, even though her kids didn’t seem to notice the fifteen year old and her seventeen year old wreck of a brother at the end of the aisle. Levi bit his lip and shifted awkwardly, half tempted to tell her to shut the fuck up before he remembered that wouldn’t really help.

“I am not,” he argued instead. “I just. Like having _plans_. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Isabel made a face at him, snickering in the back of her throat as she bounced forward and then surged past him, hooking around the corner of the aisle and disappearing from sight. Levi followed with a half bitten swear, his old high tops squeaking on the floor as he hurried after her. When he caught up she was playing with one of the lightsabers in the Star Wars section, slashing sideways to fling the blade out to its full length and then smacking it back in with her palm until she could do it again. She almost hit Levi with the thing, a _green_ blade, _honestly_ , when he caught up to her and he knocked it aside, glaring at her a little as he did so.

“Don’t worry, big bro,” Isabel teased, eyes glittering as green as the plastic blade she waggled at him with. “I’m sure Eren finds your love of plans a real turn on.”

Levi’s face caught fire, as did his blood, and he boiled for a second before wrenching one of the lightsabers off the wall and flicking his wrist out, the blade hissing plastic friction as it thunked to its unimpressively short length. Isabel squeaked, her laughter tumbling like a landside as it cut through the holiday music playing overhead. Levi slashed at her, not caring that he was supposed to be above this kind of nonsense, knowing his face was almost as red as his sister’s hair from her remark.

For a minute, Levi forgot about how worried he was that Eren would be disappointed in his yet-be-be-bought gift. For a minute he was just a teenager, yelling at his sister in the middle of a toy store in the mall, getting in trouble with a fed up looking retail worker who all but dragged them from the store by their ears. Isabel was clinging to his arm, letting him take the responsibility for the chaos they caused, her cheeks flushed and her hair falling in her eyes, and Levi forgot about the weight on his shoulders, his need to impress Eren with a thoughtful and perfect romantic gift.

But then that minute ended, standing back in the rabble of crowd noise that was the mall the Saturday before Christmas, and all at once the dread and worry flooded Levi again. He groaned, knotting his fingers in his hair and wheezing a little in the back of his throat as he tried to figure out which store in the mall they hadn’t gone through that day for ideas.

 _Eren probably isn’t having this kind of issue_ , Levi thought miserably. He couldn’t imagine his boyfriend, so thoughtful and sweet and perfect, getting this worked up over what to get Levi for Christmas. It just wasn’t Eren’s way.

 

-

 

“He’s going to dump me,” Eren moaned quietly. Connie slurped his Starbucks for a second before he answered, reaching up to absently pat Eren’s shoulder in a reassuring and easy manner.

“No he’s not,” Connie said confidently. “He agreed to date you even after you told the entire cafeteria he took bubble baths and couldn’t get through a single bath without singing the theme song to Pokemon, remember? This isn’t gonna be any different.”

Eren felt his face scrunch up in confusion, twisting his head to look at his friend. Connie had agreed to take him shopping on the condition Eren buy one of Starbucks’ ridiculous fraps and he had, braving the ridiculous holiday rush line in the name of a no whip mocha frappucino with two shots of espresso. Tucked into the winter hat he’d gotten out of the Secret Santa party last year, Connie didn’t seem bothered by the noise or the frenzy around him, one hand still on Eren’s shoulder as he rolled the chewed up straw to his coffee between his teeth.

“When the hell did I tell the whole cafeteria _that_?”

“Um, third grade?

Vaguely Eren _sort of_ remembered that, but in a very distant way, like a dream. That would have been back before he could reach the top of the kitchen counter, right? God, that was _ages_ ago. He made a face and Connie laughed, patting his shoulder again before tucking his hand back in his hoodie pocket.

“ _What_ ,” Eren asked, redundantly, gesturing at the mall in general because he was frazzled and wound up and _in love_ but he was probably going to _ruin it_ and therefore _die alone_. Connie simply shrugged.

“It was the first thing I could think of,” the other boy admitted. “I was trying to think of something more recent, but to be honest that was the maddest I’ve ever seen Levi get at you. And even then it was like, what, ten minutes top before you two were back to playing on the playground like normal?”

“Dude, why do you remember this stuff?”

“Sasha has a better memory than me, really,” Connie denied, shrugging again and smiling a little absently at the mention of his girlfriend. “She mentioned it the other day; we were talking about how gross and obvious you guys had been about being head over heels for each other for _years_.”

Heat flared, hot and lightning fast across Eren’s cheeks, racing down his neck until he almost didn’t need the scarf wrapped loosely around his throat. Anyone but Connie probably would have meant that in a cruel way – with the exception of Krista, possibly, but not assuredly – but even in the heat of the moment, where Eren was tingling from his toes with embarrassment, he couldn’t find it in himself to be hurt or mad.

“This is just- it’s our _first Christmas_ ,” Eren said, voice lodging in his throat in an awkward crooked lump, because _first_ implied _more_ and god, Eren wanted more Christmases with Levi so badly, he wanted every Christmas with Levi, he wanted to wake him up on Christmas morning, to wish him happy birthday first thing when he opened his eyes, he _wanted_ -

“I know,” Connie said, lips curling, eyes going distant with memories. Eren had once been a little jealous of how easily Connie and Sasha had slipped from being best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend, especially after _weeks_ of thinking he was going to _die_ when Levi found out, because there was no way in Hell Levi could like him back. But now- now there was nothing to be jealous of, just a friend who had offered to help, who hadn’t seemed to mind the fact Eren had woken him up before noon on one of their days of winter break for this.

“I’ll need to get him a birthday present too,” Eren muttered, biting his already chapped lip. He glanced down, pulling his phone out of his pocket, running his fingers across the cracked case and making a face down at it before shoving it back in his pocket. He didn’t have a text from Levi, which meant he wasn’t awake yet. The thought made his chest loosen a little. “But- I mean, do you think-“ He shuttered to a halt, reaching up to tug at his hair and drag his hands down his face. Connie hummed from around his straw and slurped at his somehow melting cold coffee again. “Do you think he’ll _like_ them though? The-“

“ _Eren! Oh my god, Eren, you’re here!_ ”

Eren nearly bit his tongue in half, nearly choked to death on his own heart. He jerked, ducking reflexively behind Connie’s slightly shorter frame and for a minute Connie scrambled, jolting forward like he was going to bolt in response to Eren’s reaction before he seemed to figure out what was going on.

“Jesus _Christ_ ,” he wheezed, clearing his throat as the redheaded girl pushed through the crowd like some kind of demonic little elf fairy _thing._ “Give a dude some warning, Eren, I just about swallowed my straw.”

“What is _she doing here_ ,” Eren hissed. He knew he’d been spotted, he knew the goat was up, but if _Isabel was here_ , that meant-

“ _Isabel_ , where the-“

If Connie asked, Eren’s knees did not go weak at the sound of Levi’s voice. That would be ridiculous, especially since they had been dating for _months_. It was just that the, uh, floor under his was uneven. Or that his shoe had a rock in it. Or that he was in love with his best friend of nearly ten years and he had thought Levi had planned on sleeping in until at least two o’clock and yet he was here, unannounced, at the mall, looking gorgeous and pink cheeked and bright eyed and-

Okay, so, Eren’s knees went a little weak. He couldn’t help it. He needed prep time before he saw Levi sometimes, to brace for how much the sight of the other teenager made him _feel_. He was just- _so_ -

“Connie, is that my boyfriend hiding behind your shoulder?”

“Maybe,” Connie answered; he sounded like he was grinning, about to make a comment that would have Eren wishing he had _walked_ , and with a hiss Eren shoved the other boy, straightening out of his slight hunch to face Levi and his sister with warm cheeks. “Oh, come on,” Connie laughed, even though Eren’s eyes had locked with Levi’s and neither of them were paying attention to him anymore. He made a wet raspberry sound and turned to Isabel, but Levi’s lips curled and the rest of the world dropped away.

“Hey,” Levi said, eyes like winter clouds, mostly clear with the faintest tint of grey. Eren licked his lips and grinned back, an expression that was probably dopey beyond his control.

“Hey,” Eren said back. Levi laughed. He swung his hand forward, catching Eren’s hand easily with his, fingers tangled together, and Eren’s heart leapt. He squeezed Levi’s hand, tugging at his boyfriend through the grip until Levi rocked forward a step, and then another. Eren leaned forward, hunching down over Levi, who hadn’t grown much since he was fifteen and still grumbled about Eren’s growth spurt occasionally, as Levi tipped his head up, eyes warm as they drifted to look at Eren’s lips.

Eren wanted to kiss him. He wanted to kiss him _so bad_.

“Oh my god,” Isabel groaned. She threw something at Eren’s head, making Levi growl as he reflexively ducked out of the way of the crumpled up receipt that had been in her hand. Connie ducked it pick it up, snickering at little at the way Eren and Levi turned twin glares at the interruption. “You saw each other _yesterday_ , chill with the goo-goo eyes, we are in _public_. Haven’t we been kicked out of enough places already, big bro?”

Eren watched Levi’s face flushed, watched his lips part in denial, but he got a little distracted there, still hooked on the thought of kissing him. Before Isabel could protest Eren swooped in, pressed a quick kiss to Levi’s open mouth, and when he parted, maybe a few seconds later than he had originally meant, Levi was flushing for a completely different reason, his soft warm eyes making Eren shiver in contentment as he leaned back.

“You get kicked outta someplace, babe?”

Levi scrunched up his nose, glanced away, which meant _yes_. Eren bit his lip on the urge to laugh, because Levi was so cute and endearing, scowling at Isabel even though Eren knew without asking Levi was probably just as much to blame for whatever happened as she was. They _were_ siblings, even if Isabel was only his half-sister.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Levi muttered, rolling his eyes. Eren squeezed his boyfriend’s fingers again, laughing a little finally at the way Isabel narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her brother while Connie slurped the last of his coffee and twisted to look for a trash can.

“Speaking of _later_ ,” Isabel said, with a significant look at their hands. “Eren probably wants to get back to his mysterious unexcused shopping trip with Connie. _Right_?”

“Um,” Eren said, suddenly aware that it was December 23rd and he didn’t have his boyfriend’s present bought. Oh god, what would Levi think if he knew they were shopping for _him_? Eren felt a wheeze start to catch in his throat.

“Eren’s keeping me company while I shop for Sasha,” Connie answered smoothly, gesturing with his empty coffee cup. “She said that if I got her another potato peeler this year, joke or not, she was gonna peel _me_ , so-“ He shrugged, making the whole thing seem natural, like he wasn’t _lying_ to Levi, Eren’s _boyfriend_ , who was standing _right there_ , holding Eren’s _hand_.

The guilt crept in immediately and Eren knew the second Christmas came he was going to buckle and tell Levi the truth. He was terrible at lies, always had been; he’d shared too many things with Levi to start lying to him now, even over the little shit. He swallowed, but other than a brief puzzled look Levi shrugged easily, twisting to look up at him instead.

“Text me when you guys are done,” Levi asked quietly. Eren’s chest constricted with fondness.

“Of course,” Eren answered. “If you’re home, Connie can just drop me there. _If he doesn’t mind_ , uh, wait-“

“I don’t mind,” Connie answered. “Be right back though, gonna go throw this away.”

Connie traipsed off through the crowd in search of a trash can, dragging Isabel along with him as he did. Isabel rolled her eyes and made a show of following the older boy away from the pair, making Eren want to close his eyes and savor just how good a friend Connie was to him. Instead of doing that he focused on Levi, who was smiling softly up at him, so sweet and good and-

“I love you,” Eren blurted, clutching at Levi’s hand and stepping forward, into Levi’s space, ducking around him as Levi rose to meet him on his tiptoes.

“I love _you_ ,” Levi answered, grinning, clutching Eren back as he pressed up, kissing him, warm chapped lips brushing gently against Eren’s and sending a rolling wave of love and affection and contentment through his chest. He moaned a little bit when Levi drew away, his boyfriend laughing and pushing lightly at Eren’s chest to get him to step back, which he did so reluctantly.

“I’ll see you later,” Levi told him, grinning and laughing and _gorgeous_. “And we’re doing presents on Christmas day, right? When we come over for dinner?”

A knot formed in Eren’s gut, one that felt like he’d been kicked and a bruise had begun to form. He swallowed, smoothing his hands against his pants nervously.

“Yeah,” he answered, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt and knowing all the same that Levi could read him more easily than any other person in the world. “We’re doing presents before dinner.”

“Okay,” Levi nodded. “I love you, text you later.”

“I love you,” Eren said, throat thick and voice going a little croaky at the end. Levi gave him a look, one that said he’d be asking about that later, and then turned to leave. Eren watched him go, weaving through the crowd to where Isabel was waiting with all the impatience of a fifteen year old diva younger sister, and by the time Connie joined him once more, Eren had started going through the five stages of grief again.

“He’s going to dump me,” he whined. Connie only sighed, fisted a hand in his coat, and started dragging him along.

 

-

 

Eren woke to the sound of the front door slamming opening and the pitter patter of not so little feet thundering through his house. He groaned groggily, rolling over, burrowing his face against the couch as his consciousness went in and out. He vaguely heard his mother’s voice, heard a chipper shout of _Merry Christmas!_ ring out through the halls, but he was comfortable and cold, shivering as he tried to remember what those words meant.

“Well,” a nearby voice said, drawing closer until it was warm and almost brushing Eren’s ear. That made him shiver again, a little moan of a gasp escaping his mouth as he blinked once and then again. Light, hazily and bright, and then a shape solidified. _Levi_ , Eren thought. His heart shuddered at the sight of his boyfriend and his bright grin.

“This explains why you stopped responding to my texts,” Levi teased. Eren bolted upright as the words hit him, lurching a little as the world blacked out from the rush of blood to his head. Levi laughed, catching his swaying shoulders with a fond mutter of, “you idiot, lay _down_ ,” but Eren shook his head and hauled Levi down to him.

“ _Shit_ , Levi, I’m so _sorry_ ,” he murmured. Levi fell into Eren’s lap with a shake of his head, their weight bouncing familiar on the couch. His tiny boyfriend was still wearing his coat, which Eren’s hands pulled at absently, tugging it off his arms and tossing it toward the armchair where they’d hang it up later, when Eren wasn’t dying to kiss his love.

(That was a trick statement, Eren realized as their lips came together and Levi licked into his mouth, hands snaking into Eren’s already messy hair. He was _always_ dying to kiss his love. The coat could rot on the floor, for all Eren cared. Nothing was as important as kissing Levi.

Nothing except the way Levi laughed against his mouth, the sound soft and light and beautiful, their noses brushing as Levi shifted, pressed Eren back against the couch and grinding their hips together with a roll of his body.

 _That_ was important. The coat sure as shit wasn’t though.)

“Eren it’s _fine_ ,” Levi murmured, leaning back just far enough that he could press his lips against Eren’s forehead before ducking back down to nuzzle at his face. Eren curled his fingers in Levi’s shirt, kissing at Levi’s cheek as the last of his grogginess from his nap left him. “Mikasa texted me when she realized you had dozed off, I knew you were okay, I was just teasing you.”

“I love you,” Eren told him, because his chest felt like it was going to burst with how happy he was. “Levi, I _love_ you.”

Levi’s hands curled against Eren’s jaw as he pulled back, stormy eyes going soft and warm, lips curving gently. “I know,” Levi muttered back, “and I love _you_ , Eren. So much. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Eren responded, “and _Happy Birthday_!”

“Oh give it a _break_ ,” Levi laughed, sliding sideways so that their knees were still pressed together but he was off Eren’s lap. Eren considered his world colder like this, even though Levi had just come from the freezing weather outside and wasn’t really known for his drastic amount of body heat. More like his drastic lack of body heat, but Eren figured he had enough for both of them. But Eren let him go, shifting to face his boyfriend, and he realized that there was a package at the foot of couch that hadn’t been there when he’d fallen asleep.

“ _Presents_ ,” he hissed. He was lit like a live wire all of a sudden, nervous and excited and jittery and _so pumped_. He scrambled up, darting toward the tree to fetch the presents he’d wrapped for Levi. His boyfriend fell back against the couch, rolling his eyes with a mock huff as he put aside Eren’s phone, broken side of the case up, before reaching for the present he must have left on the ground before waking Eren. By the time Eren threw himself back into place with the two presents he’d wrapped, Levi was holding his awkwardly in his hands, a small neatly wrapped box just a little larger than his hands.

“Mine first,” Eren insisted, shoving forward the bigger box. His hands shook, but he was trying to hide it and after so many years of seeing his messily unevenly wrapped packages next to Levi’s neatly done ones he felt no shame, only vague exasperation. He was going to get that right one day, he swore to God.

“Christmas, Christmas, and then birthday,” Levi recited dutifully, giving him a fond look. “I know the drill, Eren.”

“Then _open it_ ,” Eren said. He threw his hands dramatically up in the air for good measure, feeling a mounting kind of dread that had hung over him for the past day or so start to make itself known once more. It was such a stupid gift, but he hadn’t known what else to get him. He hoped Levi would be as understanding about this as Connie swore he would, but what if it was a disappointment? Their first Christmas together and-

And what if it was their _last_?

Eren opened his mouth, made to tell Levi that it was lame and terrible and that he was _so sorry_ , but it was too late. With one mighty rip, the paper was off and the box could be seen. Eren was breathless, because even at the sight of the box, Levi didn’t react. And why would he, people reused boxes for presents all the time, it’s not like he suspected that Eren had gotten him-

“You bought me shoes,” Levi said. His eyebrows furrowed, in something like confusion, something eerily like disappointment, and Eren’s heart stopped beating. He covered his face and groaned.

“Oh god, I knew it,” Eren moaned, “I’m _sorry_ , it’s so stupid. I bought you fucking shoes, I fucked up, I just- I just thought, _hey, Levi’s shoes could use replacing, he keeps talking about getting new ones!_ And then when we were shopping, I saw them, and I asked Connie and he said _go for it_ , but I think- I should’ve known, because like, what’s worse than getting socks for Christmas? Shoes. No one wants shoes for Christmas, oh, _Levi_ ¸ I’m so sorry-“

A twist of Levi’s expression was all the warning Eren got before his boyfriend roughly dropped the box of sneakers and flung himself at Eren. Eren went from sitting upright to suddenly being thrown on his back, crossing legs pressed awkwardly against Levi’s hips as the smaller boy pressed down on him, Levi shaking slightly as he wound his arms around Eren’s back and pressed his face against Eren’s shoulder, breathing in deeply before letting out a quiet, shaking laugh.

“I love them,” Levi whispered hoarsely. Eren felt his eyes burn with the rush of relief he felt. Levi’s fingers dug into his sides, but Eren didn’t care, shifting his legs until their bodies could be flush and winding his own arms around Levi’s back. “I _love them_ ,” Levi repeated, louder, shuddering with something and Eren felt himself echoing that shudder even though he didn’t know what emotion to name for it. “They’re perfect, Eren, I’ve been needing new shoes and they’ve got galaxies on them, they’re- I love them. I love _you_.”

Tears filled Eren’s sides and he laughed, the noise just as quiet and shaky as Levi’s had been. He felt the tension go out of his body almost instantly, his heart thundering still but less with panic and more with euphoria. Levi _liked the shoes_. Jesus fucking Christ, Eren was going to buy Connie a medal for putting up with him.

“Fuck, I’m so glad,” Eren muttered quietly. “I’m so fucking _glad_ , Levi, I love you. I just- I wanted to get you something to mean something.”

Levi shifted, looming above Eren after a moment with his palms pressed against the couch on either side of Eren’s head. It wasn’t an unfamiliar position for them, the familiarity of it actually soothed Eren’s racing heart, bringing him to focus on the way Levi looked at him, sure and steady and clear as he said, “they do mean something, Eren. This way, it’ll be like you’re with me every step of the way.”

 

-

 

Levi couldn’t believe those fucking words came out of his mouth.

The flush of embarrassment lit his body like he’d been struck by lightning, but it was nothing compared to the way his heart rioted, all panic and anxiety, because he had _meant it_ but God almighty it wasn’t something he was supposed to _say_. Eren was going to think he was a lunatic, that he was clingy or stupid or-

“I’ll always be with you,” Eren murmured, tipping his chin up as his cheeks became just faintly dusted with a blush that made his golden skin _glow_. He reached up, his warm fingers cupping Levi’s jaw gently, and then his smile went crooked and charming, and a hint of laughter bled into his voice as he added, “every step of the way, Levi. I love you.”

Levi’s chest clenched, his heart collapsing in his chest like a star going supernova. He ducked down, kissing Eren, pressing their bodies together the same way he had before, their hips grinding together with the motion, because who fucking _cared_ if they were in the living room, if it was _Christmas day_ , if their mothers were in the kitchen, because _holy fuck_ , Levi loved him.

“I love _you_ ,” Levi said, clearing his throat around the affection building up there as he drew back. He sat up and Eren followed him, trying not to look too disappointed that Levi was no longer pinning him down. The thought made a warm curl of arousal blossom in his gut, the way Eren sat up so easily, the slope of his neck as he turned his head and shook his hair out of his eyes for a second. Levi thought about pinning him down again, about kissing him; his hair was already messy and when he stretched his arms up there was a sliver of skin showing between his t-shirt and pajamas pants that was calling Levi’s name.

“My turn,” Eren cheered, oblivious of the direction Levi’s thoughts had turned. Levi cleared his throat, shaking his head and reminding himself that _later_ they could probably get to that. They’d never had a Christmas together before, so he wasn’t sure how readily everyone would fuck off and let them be in Eren’s room, but it was worth a try. Even if all they got around to was rolling around on Eren’s bed, laughing and kissing their fill.

“Okay, Christ, chill,” Levi muttered, twisting around to grab Eren’s present from where it had fallen off the couch. He got distracted a little by the shoe box on the ground, the way his new galaxy print sneakers were half tumbled out onto the ground, clean and new and _perfect_. Levi loved them. He loved them so much.

“It’s, uh-“ Levi muttered, glancing away. He was fucked; Eren’s present was so thoughtful and his was so _lame_. What if he didn’t like it? There had been so many to choose from and he’d picked it out on a frustrated whim, paying for it before he could change his mind. Isabel had raised an eyebrow at him too, which meant that she was _questioning him_ , which was. Not a good sign for his first Christmas present to his boyfriend. Yay.

“I’ll love it, shut up,” Eren insisted, taking the present out of Levi’s hand and ripping into it with glee. Levi shut his eyes for a second, a wince rattling in his throat where laughter once bubbled. Half a second later he peeked his eyes open, unable to bear the torture of waiting for Eren to react, especially since he knew all of Eren’s reactions to presents were mostly non-verbal.

Eren’s face was unreadable for a second, eyes moving slowly across the present, nestled inside the small box Levi’s mother had found for him and tucked inside of tissue paper. He picked it up carefully, like it would break, which was ridiculous because it was for protection, it wouldn’t break just because Eren picked it up weird. Levi bit his tongue on a smart remark, pressing his hands against his thighs and staring at Eren as his eyes slid up from the gift and locked with his own.

“Amazing Spider-man,” Eren read softly. He blinked, eyes glimmering, tongue flicking out to wet his lips as Levi fought to breathe. “You bought me an Amazing Spider-man case for my phone?”

“Well,” Levi said, jaw clenched against a panicked wheeze. He’d fucked up. Isabel’s look should have been the clue, he should have taken it _back_. “You broke your old one last week. And you like Spider-man. So. Yes?”

Eren cleared his throat. Then he cleared it again, flipped the case over in his hands, and blinked. And then, very suddenly, he was crying.

 _Oh God_ , Levi thought, lunging forward to cradle Eren’s face in his panicked hands. Eren’s cheeks were warm and damp and he hiccupped and wheezed for a second, shaking his head, lips brushing Levi’s palm as he turned and nuzzled into Levi’s hand, eyes crinkling as-

As he laughed.

“ _Eren_ ,” Levi hissed. His heart had stopped about the time he saw Eren’s eyes shine with tears and with a lurch it restarted, smacking roughly into his ribs again in a way that felt like it bruised all the way down his chest. Eren shook his head, dragged Levi in and kissed him, buried his fingers in Levi’s hair and licked his way into his mouth, pressing forward until Levi was in danger of falling back and being pinned. Levi held on, kissing his ridiculous boyfriend back, chest a tangle of emotions he wasn’t sure how to even begin to sort through until Eren drew back, their noses brushing, Eren’s nose bumping purposefully into Levi’s before he sat up and released him to rub at his eyes.

“Sorry,” Eren laughed, voice cracking, “ _sorry_ , I love it, I just- I _love_ it, I just got emotional because- Because it’s perfect.”

“Um,” Levi said. “You. Like it?”

Eren laughed again, wiped his nose with the back of his hand in a disgusting and endearing move that made Levi’s heart clench and his nose crinkle all at once. “I like it, babe,” Eren promised. “Here- gimmie my phone, I’ll put it on real quick.”

Fingers wiggled Levi’s way and after a minute of staring at his boyfriend, Levi turned and craned his head, trying to figure out where Eren’s phone had gone. He’d put it beside him when Eren had gone to get presents, but after their bouts of wrestling he couldn’t spot it immediately. He leaned over toward the arm, shoving his hand blindly between the cushions there, and sure enough, the way it always was, it was wedged there.

“You’re the best,” Eren muttered, swiping up the phone and hastily shucking the case off to put the new one on. He tossed the cracked one away, letting it land without a care somewhere across the room, as was the Eren Jaeger way, and then holding up his phone in its new case with a whispered _tada!_

“No, I’m _not_ ,” Levi snorted. He shook his head, feeling his lips pull into a grin as Eren waggled his eyebrows at him charmingly. “Just- I’m glad you like it. I was worried you wouldn’t.”

“I love it,” Eren said sincerely. “Just like I love you.”

Levi rolled his eyes and with a grin Eren leaned into him, kissing his nose, his cheek, his chin and the corner of his mouth with adorable, heart-melting little pecks. Levi couldn’t help but grin back, laughing as he was dragged back into Eren’s grip, back into his lap.

(He loved being in Eren’s lap, loved the warm heat that bled from Eren’s chest into his back, but most of all he loved the way he could faintly feel his boyfriend’s heart beating strong under his ear when he turned his head. They played videogames like that sometimes, Eren with Levi in his lap, arms stretched around him to hold his controller out of Levi’s way. Levi was always blown away by how _careful_ his boyfriend was in those moments; usually Eren was a flailing shouting gaming menace, but when Levi was in the circle of his arms he was still, swearing in mutters and kissing Levi’s cheek and hair in between rounds.

Levi always did the worst when they played like that, too distracted by Eren to concentrate on the game. But it was his favorite time. His favorite place. He loved it.

He loved Eren.)

“Hey,” Eren said gently. Levi blinked at him. “Babe, where are you?

Levi ducked his head, humming a little and shrugging his shoulders. “I’m here,” he promised. “I was just thinking about dumb stuff, video games and things.”

Eren’s lips parted to reveal his teeth, just a little crooked and adorable as his expression went fond. His eyes glowed like gems, shining and gorgeous and precious to Levi, so precious. “Wanna play something? Mikasa got a few for Christmas, Call of Duty and stuff, we can-“

“You can _wait_ ,” Carla Jaeger interjected, voice raised just enough that they could hear her. She had a lot of practice doing that, from their childhood until now. Levi froze at her voice, as did Eren, and they looked at her as she snorted from the kitchen, Levi’s mother’s laughter faint under her voice. “We’ll be eating as soon as your sister comes back with her girlfriend. In the meantime, _Eren_ ; I think it’s time to change out of your pajamas, don’t you?”

Eren’s nose scrunched up, an adorable expression that made Levi want to kiss the tip of his nose and laugh. “Pajamas,” he repeated. Levi bit his tongue on a laugh as his ridiculous boyfriend leaned back to glance down at his close, freezing with a look of dawning horror on his face.

“Oh _god_ ,” Eren yelped. He jerked, jostling Levi on his lap, and the laughter broke fee in Levi’s throat, echoing like a shot throughout the living room. It tickled his throat as he laughed, bubbling like the cider they’d brought for dinner, until he was warm from the tip of his toes up. Eren meanwhile slapped his hands over his pink cheeks and groaned. He finally peeked at Levi through his fingers, sheepish and beautiful, before muttering, “I meant to change before you came over.”

Levi leaned back, making a show of the way he dragged his eyes down Eren’s frame, over his shoulders, down the faded old t-shirt from middle school gym, and then down, to the sleep pants with the loose tie and the worn out elastic band. Eren’s cheeks went deep red immediately, his eyes going dark as he swallowed roughly, a reaction as much to Levi’s show as it was to the way he arched his eyebrow at him. Eren reached for him, ducking in for another kiss, the motion of which set fire to Levi’s veins, and he laughed, shivering when Eren slipped his hand under his long sleeve shirt.

“I like the pajama look on you,” Levi murmured quietly.

Not quietly enough, however.

“ _Mom_ , make them _stop_ ,” Isabel groaned, sounding like she was fucking _five_ , oh, Levi was going to kill her when he got his hands on her, he swore to _God_. Eren jerked away from Levi as Eren’s mother yelled _boys, honestly!_

“I’m _sure_ Eren can change out of out of his pajamas on his _own_ , son of mine. Come here and help set the table.”

Levi groaned audibly, half tempted to yell _but Mom_ like he was the childish one in their family. Eren laughed, hand sliding up Levi’s side before going back down, slipping free of his shirt and then he moved them both back. Levi let himself be manhandled away, Eren kissing his cheeks before he put them both on their feet.

“Go set the table, I’m going to get dressed. We’ll do your birthday present when I’m, uh, not in my pajamas.”

“Okay,” Levi said, “I love you.”

(“ _Yes_ , we _know_ , you _love him_ , oh my _god_ , please take me back to the days before this hell, I am getting _cavities_ here.")

“I love _you_ ,” Eren whispered. He ducked down, kissing Levi’s lips and Levi pressed up to meet him. Eren’s warm perfect lips curled up in a grin and he laughed, the sound rattling against Levi’s teeth as he found himself echoing his boyfriend’s joy. “Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, babe.”

“Merry Christmas,” Levi snorted, reaching up to tangle his hands in Eren’s hair, lost in his warmth, his laughter. He didn’t want to move, so why should he again?

“ _Boys_ ,” their mothers yelled in perfect sync. Eren and Levi broke apart, both pink cheeked and swallowing sheepishly.

Right, Levi thought. _That_ was why.

As far as first Christmases went, though, he figured it hadn’t been a complete failure Actually kind of the opposite. And, from the looks of it – from the way Eren looked at him and the way Levi knew he’d never love anyone else in his life the way he loved Eren - they would have many more to come.

But god, did he hoped picking out a present next year wouldn’t be so _stressful _. He was going to get grey haired before he was twenty if every gift giving event with Eren was this nerve wracking.__

__Eren was worth it though, so with a shake of his head Levi wandered toward the kitchen as Eren bounded up the stairs, content._ _

**Author's Note:**

> adfkjljdakjfklajd I'm editing this so early due to my annual Christmas insomnia and should be posting the rest of my gift fics for friends and stuff today. this one was fun to write, even though I debated a lot on POVS and shut. anyway, shutting up, blah blah blah-
> 
> I hope the recipient enjoyed it and I hope _you_ all enjoyed it as well ;)


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